Clocking In the Hours
by dogestiel
Summary: Tessa Gray, a girl who just moved to New York City, is starting her first job at the multi-billion dollar company, London Institute. Even though she's only an assistant, she's determined to work her way up the corporate ladder. But who can she trust in the hard world of business, where everyone's vying for the same goal: the top?
1. Elevator Doors

A/N:** Hi guys! This is my first non-crossover fic, and I've had this idea for awhile so please please please review, follow, favorite or anything! Hope you lot like it!**

_disclaimer: I do not own any of the_ TID _cast. All that belongs to Cassie C!_

**thanks again for reading! **

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Tessa nervously combed her fingers through her hair-which was up in what she hoped to be a tight bun, though she wasn't sure if it was exactly tight anymore, or resembled a bun at all, for that matter. Shuffling through her papers, she practiced inhaling and exhaling, hoping to calm down. The up arrow's light blinked on, and the faint ding that signaled the elevator had arrived echoed through the massive marble lobby. Cheeks burning red, Tessa wiped her palms on her pencil skirt, making sure her hands weren't sweaty if she had to shake anyone's hand, and stepped inside the elevator.

However, before she had even gotten a foot into the elevator, somebody came barreling past her and straight into the elevator- nearly knocking Tessa over. Inside the elevator now, Tessa could fully see who had almost made her fall.

It was a very attractive man.

Tessa sucked in a breath. She had just arrived in New York City only a month ago, and still, she marveled at how put together some people were. Having lived in a small town on the edge of New York before, the city was something of a sight to her, and it's people were even more fascinating. Take, for example, the man who had almost ran straight into her- despite his wild, fiery essence, he still looked impeccable. His jet black hair shone slightly, as though a light amount of hair product had been applied- matting down any frizz that might have occurred. The suit he was wearing was obviously tailored to perfection, with each arm the exact same length, and not a single thread out of place. She had seen some suits like the one he was wearing in an exclusive boutique's window on the first day she had come here. Tessa couldn't remember the boutique's name, but she knew it was in French.

The man's intense blue eyes flitted up to her, and gave her a once over, immediately putting Tessa on her guard. Was this man assessing her? Crossing her arms across her chest as the elevator doors closed, Tessa said, in an indignant tone, "I think you owe me an apology."

The man's eyes widened in shock, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "And what do I have to apologize for, exactly?" She could hear a strong English accent in his voice, and he seemed to roll his r's in a way that reminded her of another language, but she couldn't quite place it right now.

"For nearly knocking me over," She replied, slightly surprised that he didn't know what he'd done. "I could've toppled over and spilled all my papers on my first day of work."

The man looked as though something had clicked, and his face suddenly broke out into a mishchevious grin that made Tessa apprehensive. "Your first day? Where, might I ask, are you working?"

"You still haven't apologized," Tessa noted, purposefully not acknowledging his query.

He rolled his eyes. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Fine. I'm working at London Institute," She said, a hint of pride in her voice. London Institute was one of the most highly regarded Corporations in the US, and it was considered an honor to work there- even if she was only working as an assistant, this guy didn't have to know that.

"Oh, really?" The man asked his voice now containing some excited deviltry, and Tessa realized, with a shock, that he wasn't even really a man. He looked to be more like a nineteen year old, but she supposed it was the suit that had fooled her. This guy couldn't have been a year older than herself. "How interesting."

The elevator dinged once more, and the doors opened on the London Institute's floor- which was at the top of the building. Tessa glanced over at the open doors, then turned back to finish speaking to her rude elevator partner, only to find that he wasn't there anymore; instead, she only saw the back of his navy suit running off onto her new office's floor.

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she understood: that meant that this guy was going to be working with her. Suddenly feeling very ill, Tessa had to resist the urge to jam the button to go back down to the lobby, and then run home from there; however, she just stepped out of the elevator, wobbling slightly due to her heels- which she wasn't used to wearing, since, being very tall for a girl, they seemed rather unnecessary.

She walked over to a large desk, which she assumed was the lobby of LI's offices. Tapping on the desk to get the girl who was sitting behind its attention, Tessa smiled when she looked up. "Hi," Tessa said, plastering on her best smile, despite her disastrous encounter in the elevator. "I'm Theresa Gray; I'm starting my job here today." The girl- who looked to be roughly Tessa's age- returned her smile.

"I'm Sophie," She replied, sticking out her hand. Tessa made sure not to comment on her hairstyle- she wore it in a way that covered half of her face, and shook Sophie's hand.

"Tessa- oh wait... I already said that." Blushing slightly, Tessa chastised herself for acting like such a fool, but Sophie only smiled reassuringly.

"It's alright. I was nervous on my first day too," She looked over at her computer, clicking the mouse a couple times. "Now let's see... Theresa..." She scrolled down a bit, and Tessa tried to catch a glance at the screen, but it was angled in a way that made it impossible for Tessa to see. "Alright, you're the new assistant to Mr. Carstairs." Sophie beamed at her, obviously pleased. "You're working for one of the best heads of departments here! You're really lucky; you could've ended up with Mr. Herondale or Mr. Lightwood. Mr. Carstairs is absolutely lovely- you'll have a blast." The printer next to Sophie's computer made a whirring noise, and a black and white sheet of paper shot out of it, which Sophie picked up and handed to Tessa. "That's the map of the offices- which are huge, by the way; I swear, I got lost in here too many times to count. We're right here," Sophie tapped the middle of the map, where a circular figure was printed- which Tessa presumed was the desk. "To get to Mr. Carstairs' office, you'll have to go to here," She circled an office on the end of the floor with a red pen. "And the lunchroom's over this way," Sophie circled another place on the map- this one much larger than Mr. Carstairs' office. "You'll be able to see me eating at one of the tables; hopefully we'll be able to hang out then." Tessa, at that moment, decided she like Sophie, and that she'd make a wonderful friend while she worked at LI. "If you need anything, I'm usually right here. Got it?"

Tessa nodded, taking the map for herself and studying it. The office floor seemed more like a jungle than a work environment, but she knew she'd need to learn her way around here quickly. "Thank you for all the help," Tessa said, a smile playing at her lips. At least she'd have one friend here. "I'll see you at lunch, then?"

"Okay," Sophie beamed, then returned to her work, seeming much happier than when Tessa had walked in.

Now looking at her map, Tessa followed the hallways to where the red circle that stood for Mr. Carstairs' office was. Passing several clear-glass offices, she could tell many old employees were eyeing her- though what they were thinking of her, Tessa had no idea. Rounding a corner, she finally found the door with a shiny silver plaquer that read, "Carstairs." Biting her lip, Tessa opened the door- and immediately wished she had knocked.

Standing before her seemed to be a picture straight out of a fairytale. There was a man- who she could only assume was Mr. Carstairs himself- playing the most beautiful song she'd ever heard on a violin. However, the fact that he was playing a violin was not the only fairtale-esque thing about him- his appearance was what really made Tessa compare him to the princes she'd read about when she was younger. He had a shock of silver hair, which fell loosely over his eyes, and Tessa subconsciously wondered if it got in the way of his playing. His pale hair was matched his pale skin- which seemed to almost be translucent. Mr. Carstairs looked up from his violin playing, and Tessa immediately felt guilty for making the music stop.

Turning to face her, Tessa breath caught upon seeing his face. His eyes were the same color as his hair. Not wanting to make a big deal about it, Tessa was glad when he gave her an easy way to avoid the subject when he asked, "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm-uh-I'm," _Think Tessa, think_. "I'm Tessa," She said finally, looking down, embarrassed. "Well really my name's Theressa, but no one ever calls me that and I- I'm rambling now, sorry." _God, I'm making a fool of myself._

"I'm James, but you can call me Jem. Everyone does," He eyed her curiously- though the way he looked at her was far different from the way the man in the elevator had. Mr Carstairs- or Jem, as he had asked her to call him- seemed to be more intrigued by her presence, whereas the man in the elevator looked at her as though he were examining a car to buy- as though she were a possession. She felt more comfortable with Jem right now.

"I'm your new assistant," She stammered out, holding up the paper she had printed at home. Jem placed his violin down on the table next to him, and stepped closer to her to read the paper.

After several seconds of his eyes scanning it over, he proclaimed, "Indeed you are. I was only aware I was getting a new one less than a week ago. Frankly I wasn't so sure about getting one, but you seem quite lovely; though your knocking skills might need to be improved upon."

Tessa blushed pink, but Jem smiled at her as though to let her know he meant it in a friendly way. "Anyways," He continued, glancing up at his clock- which was rimmed in hardwood, making for a modern feel. In fact, his entire office- as well as the rest of the floor, seemed to be very modern. But Tessa expected that from such a successful company. "I have a meeting to get to, would you like to join me?"

"Of course," Tessa responded, not sure if there was another appropriate answer- it wasn't as though she could tell her new boss "no I will not accompany you to your foolish meeting."

"Wonderful," He smiled at her, and she realized that his smile really did reach his eyes- unlike a lot of other fake people she had met in the city, whose smiles were deceitful. He headed for the door, and Tessa- realizing her position, opened it for him. Startled by this gesture, Jem seemed to be taken aback, but quickly realized why she was doing it, and gave her a nervous yet thankful smile. "You really don't need to do that, if you start doing everything for me, I'll become horribly incompetent." As he walked out the door, and Tessa followed after him, shutting it behind her, he asked, "Do you have any questions for me? Anything you'd like to know about the company, or even any questions about myself?"

Tessa thought about this for a second, and since she had a million questions buzzing around in her head, she choose the first one she could think of. "What department do you head?"

"Oh that's easy; I head advertising- you know, slogans and whatnot." He seemed to be leading them a certain way, and Tessa knew better than to argue which way to go, especially since she didn't know herself. "How about another question?"

"Alright. How about..." She paused for a moment, and then asked, "How did you become so successful? You're a department head at one of the biggest businesses in the States."

He chuckled softly at her question, but answered anyways, "Well I was an exchange student from England when I came here with my greatest friend- who's also a department head now, funny how that works- and I applied for a small job here. I ran the copy room." He seemed slightly embarrassed by this fact- but Tessa thought it was honorable. He worked his way up, rather than just having it handed to him. She felt a grudging respect towards him. "Slowly I started gaining more say and importance and then, last month, I was promoted to head of the department. Now I have an unlimited lunch card, which is the best perk of being HOD," He grinned at her, and Tessa knew Sophie was right- she had gotten the best Boss.

They turned a corner, and Jem stopped in front of a large black door labeled "Discussion Room."

"Here we are," He gestured towards the door, and then pushed it open.

"Isn't that my job?" Tessa asked good-naturedly as he held the door open for her, but she accepted his courteousness anyways and went into the room. She was immediately greeted by a large drop in temperature- this room obviously had an outstanding air conditioning system. The cold air wasn't the only off-putting thing about the room, however; there was a large black table that stretched the length of the room, and Tessa immediately felt a shiver run up her spine- though not due to the sub zero temperature.

She saw who was sitting at the table.

And she didn't like who she saw one bit.


	2. The First Meeting

**A/N: hey guys! I'm back with a really quick update due to all the positive feedback I've gotten! I'm really excited about the chapter after this one, so this one will be a little bit more of a transition chapter. I'm going to try to update once a week at least.**

**TessaElsaHerondale: thank you so much for all your super nice comments! And for being my first reviewer. :) I don't know which ship I'm going to lean towards yet; I'm thinking more of a WiJessa fic for the most part . Eventually I'll have to choose though... Ack I just ship them both so much.**

**SilverCarstairs: I didn't leave you hanging, and I hope you like this update. :) as I said to TessaElsaHerondale, I think it'll be a WiJessa fic for the most part, and won't have a clear direction until the end. I guess I'll just see where it goes. I do plan on including as many characters as possible, and all the ships that go with them. Cecily and Gideon will enter the fic a bit later, and then Gecily and Sideon will take place.**

**Hearts With Love: Thank you so much for your super encouraging comments! I got the idea from mainly reading some business magazines (I know, boring :p). I figured, it hadn't been done yet (at least not to my knowledge), so I might as well try writing it. I have so many more ideas for it! I hope you'll enjoy the later chapters too!**

**Uptomyneckinfandoms: Thanks! Here's the next chapter now! Hope you like it. :)**

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Sitting at the other end of the table was the man from the elevator; though now, he was talking animatedly with another young adult. Tessa decided 'talking' wasn't the correct word- they were arguing. She couldn't hear what the two were saying, but Elevator-Man was gesturing broadly with his hands, and the other male seemed to be scowling and shaking his head- his green eyes blazing.

Jem cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the entire room. The two males stopped arguing, and looked up at Jem; many of the other people in the room glanced up as well, clearly respecting Jem's authority. "I'd like to introduce my new assistant: Tessa," He smiled at Tessa, gesturing for her to step forward.

Heeding his implication, Tessa moved forward, and she immediately saw a look of recognition flash across Elevator-Man's face. Waving slightly at the people sitting around the massive table, Tessa tried her best not to focus on the fact that, if Elevator-Man was in this room, it most likely meant that he was a superior to her.

"Tessa, this is Henry," Jem said, pointing at a man who seemed to be in his twenties, his fiery red hair his most prominent feature. "That's _Gabriel_," He signaled towards the scowling man with the burning green eyes, and Tessa noticed that, as Jem said Gabriel's name, there was a faint undertone of disdain- which Tessa hadn't heard Jem speak with up until this point. She couldn't help but feel as though Jem wasn't particularly fond of this 'Gabriel.'

"Over there is our one and only CEO, the ever outstanding Charlotte," From the tone of his voice, Tessa could tell that Jem held respect for Charlotte, and Tessa knew why. She had seen Charlotte Fairchild in many business magazines before, but seeing her in person was something else. Although she was rather short, she had a fierce presence about her that seemed to command the room. Everyone knew about Charlotte's success story- she had inherited her father's small company, and had turned it into a multi-billion dollar business through hard work and dedication. As Tessa laid her eyes upon this woman- with her dark brown hair and her deep almond colored eyes- Tessa couldn't help but feel the same respect for her that Jem seemed to have.

"And that's Will," Jem said finally, pointing towards Elevator-Man. _Will's his name then_. Tessa made sure she'd remember that. "Tessa will be working with us for quite awhile, and I just thought I'd introduce her to you all before our meeting started."

"Ah, but I already know Tess," Elevator-Man, or Will as Jem had called him, smirked. "She nearly ran me over in the elevator." Tessa's jaw dropped, was this idiot high? Did he seriously think _she_ had been the rude one?

"I did not!" She exclaimed, eyebrows furrowing. "It was the other way around, _you_ nearly ran into _me_." Suddenly, she realized the room had gone silent. Clapping a hand across her mouth, she realized she had just talked back to a superior- i_n front of the CEO_.

"I-I'm sorry," Tessa stammered out, though she wasn't sorry for talking back to Will, but rather for doing so at an inconvenient time.

"Don't apologize. I take it you two have already become aquatinted?" Jem asked, looking from Will to Tessa. "And I understand that Will ran into Tessa..."

Shooting an incredulous look at Jem, Will put his hand to his heart in mock hurt. "You take her word over mine? Even though we've known each other for so long? Does this mean you're breaking up with me... For her?"

Tessa turned pink, "I didn't know you two were dating-"

"We're not," Jem said, sounding exasperated and mildly embarrassed, shooting Will a glance that clearly meant, I'll speak with you later. "Will's just being... Well, Will. And yes, I do take her word over yours, considering it would be just like you to burst into a place without checking your surroundings first."

"Both of you, we need to start the meeting now if we're going to stay on track." It was Charlotte talking, her voice calm and commanding, with a hint of endearment. Will seemed indifferent to Charlotte pointing out their bickering, but Jem seemed slightly ashamed, and Tessa swore she could see Gabriel smirking out of the corner of her eye. "It was lovely to meet you, Tessa, but I'm afraid this meeting is only for higher ranked employees. Perhaps you can take an early break in the lunchroom until Mr. Carstairs is out?"

Tessa nodded, rather than talked, fearing she would say something stupid, or start gushing about what a pleasure it was to meet Charlotte. Instead, she politely left the room- not wanting to delay the meeting any further. Closing the door behind her, she started running over the events that had just occurred.

Jem was her boss, and he seemed to be great friends with Will, which meant he could probably convince Jem to fire her if she ticked Will off. Shuddering at the thought, she tried to navigate her way through the halls- which was much harder to do now since Jem wasn't here to lead her- to the lunchroom.

Pulling out the map Sophie had given her, Tessa tried to make sense of where she was. Right now, she was in an immaculate hallway, with a shiny white faux-marble floor-at least, Tessa hoped it wasn't real marble, for that would be rather gaudy- and glossy walls, which had pictures of business triumphs hanging on it. However, the map was in black and white, and mainly contained unlabeled two-dimensional figures, so it wasn't of much use to her at this moment. Retracing her steps, Tessa tried to imitate the way Jem had come to the conference room in reverse. Yet, after roughly ten minutes of aimlessly wondering, she'd just about given up on ever finding civilization again.

As Tessa was just about to plop down and resign to waiting in a random hallway until someone hopefully found her, she heard a familiar voice. At first it was faint, but then the voice grew louder and louder, and Tessa heard footsteps as well. Her heart speeding up, Tessa was about ready to jump for joy- someone was going to come and help her! Tessa started walking towards the voice, and in roughly half a minute, she was face to face with Sophie, who had just rounded the corner, and another girl, who had dark red hair.

"Sophie!" Tessa exclaimed, thoroughly relieved to see a familiar face. "I got lost, would you mind showing me where the lunchroom is?"

Sophie seemed slightly startled by Tessa's sudden apparition, but her look of shock quickly turned into one of sympathy. "It is a jungle here; of course I'll show you where the lunchroom is, Bridget and I were just headed there anyways." Tessa figured the girl next to Sophie, who was now looking around awkwardly, was Bridget. "You can meet some of my other friends, they work here too. Thomas and Cyril are assistants, and Bridget here is the lunchroom cook, so she unfortunately won't be able to sit with us." Bridget smiled apologetically.

"Thanks so much, I honestly don't know how I'd survive today if weren't for you," Tessa grinned sheepishly, and began walking with Sophie and Bridget towards the lunchroom. As they turned corners, Tessa tried to study where they were and how they were getting to the lunchroom, but it was quite confusing, and she eventually gave up.

"How's Jem as a boss?" Sophie asked, a hint of something Tessa couldn't place in her voice. Was it... Jealousy? _No_, Tessa decided. _It was more of a hopeful curiosity._

"He's wonderful so far, though I haven't really been with him very long. He plays the violin beautifully, however," She added, remembering the harmonic melody that had drifted out of his violin before.

"You heard him play?" Sounding surprised, Sophie quirked an eyebrow. "I'd heard he played, but I don't really think anyone, except maybe Mr. Herondale, has actually listened to him play." Even Bridget, though she remained silent, seemed impressed and a little bit shocked.

"Yeah, I heard him play, and it was wonderful," Tessa was going to keep enthusing about her boss' playing, but at that moment, they arrived in front of a bright orange door with a plaquer next to it that read, "Lunchroom."

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**I'm thinking of making this a wijessa fic, so it'll switch between Wessa and Jessa. It'll also highlight Will and Jem's friendship. I hope you guys liked it! PLEASE Review, comment and follow! It means the world to me when I hear your opinions. **


	3. Hot Coffee

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm back again with a brand-spanking-new chapter! I hope you guys like it! I absolutely LOVE reviews. So please please pretty please do just that. ;)**

**SilverCarstairs: Thanks so much for all your awesome reviews! I made this chapter longer than the last for you! Hope you like it!**

**Midnightstone1118: There'll be plenty more Jessa! In fact, I have a lot of Jessa planned for next chapter! Thanks for the superb review!**

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Sophie pushed open the door and stepped inside, with Tessa and Brisget following after her. Tessa tried not to gape when she saw the staff lunchroom; it was luxurious beyond imagination. Compared to the small, cramped cafeteria Tessa had to use for her entire high school career, this lunchroom seemed like the Buckingham Palace of cafeterias. On the left, there was a salad bar, stocked full of fresh greens and toppings. On the back edge of the room lay a long counter piled high with sandwiches, sushi, and other pre-packaged entrees, along with a small buffet of sorts that contained three different piping hot meals. There was a cash register on one side of the room, which currently wasn't attended to.

"Looks like this is where I'll have to depart. It was nice meeting you, Tessa," Bridget said, and Tessa realized, with a start, that Bridget was Irish; she hadn't noticed before, since Bridget was so silent. Turning away from Sophie and Tessa, Bridget walked over to the cash register, tied on an apron, and suddenly looked very attentive at her post.

Bridget working at the cash register reminded Tessa of the fact that she wasn't sure how mealtime worked at LI. She was about to ask Sophie when, as though reading Tessa's mind, Sophie said, "Right now we don't have unlimited meal cards- those are only for important employees- so if I were you I'd be careful with what I choose; we have to pay for it all out of our own money." Biting her lip, Tessa knew she'd just have to pack a lunch for herself every day to save money, despite all of the wonderful options the lunchroom had to offer.

However, for today, Tessa didn't have a prepacked lunch with her, so she'd need to buy something. "Do you have any reccomendations for what to buy, for today at least?"

Sophie thought for a moment, before responding, "I personally like the Yellowtail Rolls they have in the sushi section. Although, sushi might not be for everyone."

"Oh no, I love sushi," Tessa replied back, heading over to the section Sophie had mentioned. Picking out the yellowtail reccomended to her, Tessa headed over to the cash register. Bridget rang up her order, and Tessa almost choked.

The sushi cost twenty dollars!

Paying up, and feeling very guilty about doing so, Tessa collected her sushi and then went to sit down next to Sophie at one of the tables. Since it was only a few minutes past eleven, the lunchroom was empty except for one or two other employees who were aimlessly floating about.

"Cyril and Thomas should be here any minute," Sophie said, glancing over at the door. As though on cue, the bright orange door swung open after she finished talking, and a pair of twins entered.

It was almost eerie how similar in appearance they were; both had the same shaggy mess of dark brown hair, both had the same light auburn eyes, and both had the same lightly tanned skin. Catching Sophie's eye, they headed over to their table, sitting down beside Sophie and Tessa.

"Who's that?" The one on the left asked, looking over at Tessa with a quizzical expression.

"That's Tessa," Sophie answered, grinning from the twins to Tessa. "She's Jem's assistant. Tessa, these are Cyril," she gestured to the man on the left, "And Thomas," and the one on the right. "They're assistants, just like you; although, they weren't as lucky in who they got as bosses."

"You're fortunate to have Carstairs as a boss, I heard he's even more pleasant than Henry!" Thomas exclaimed, grinning almost ruefully at her. "I'm stuck with Herondale. He used to be alright to work with, but now he's unbearable."

"You think that's bad? I'm working for Lightwood; he basically treats me more like a servant than an assistant." His brother, Cyril complained, pulling up a lunch bag and placing it on the table. "Lightwood's head of Communications, and there's an ongoing inside joke that there couldn't have been a worse candidate for the job, considering his reputation in dealing with other people." He explained, for Tessa's sake.

"He can't be that bad," Tessa volunteered, even though she didn't know the guy particularly well. She didn't think anyone deserved to be talked about like that.

"To me he is," Cyril said, shivering slightly. Unwrapping his lunch, he pulled out and apple and bit in. Finishing chewing, he said in a good-natured way, "But I need this job to pay the bills, so I guess I'll just have to put up with him."

"The only reason Gabriel even got the job is because his father's on the board; he probably bullied someone into letting his son become a HOD," Thomas added thoughtfully, unpacking his own lunch.

"His father's on the board?" Tessa repeated, impressed.

"Yep. Nepotism's useful. At least Herondale worked to get where he is," Cyril commented, and then looked down at Tessa's lunch. "You purchased?"

"I didn't know it was going to cost me half of my paycheck to eat here, so I didn't pack a lunch," Already feeling quite ill at the thought of paying so much for sushi, Tessa wished they wouldn't mention it.

"I made that mistake on my first day, too," Thomas nodded sympathetically. "Then I realized I was going to be spending more money than I was making if I kept eating here, so I started packing lunches." Gesturing towards his bagged lunch, he smiled.

"I suppose I'll have to do the same." Placing a roll into her mouth, Tessa realized why the sushi cost so much. Unlike most packaged sushi, the seaweed was still crunchy, and the yellowtail burst with flavor upon her biting into it. After she had finished chewing the first roll, she wished she did have enough money to pay for lunches here, considering how wonderful they were.

It was at that moment that the orange door swung open once more, although this time it revealed faces that were less welcoming than Cyril and Thomas's. Instead of the twins entering, this time it was the green-eyed man she'd seen in the meeting room- Gabriel, she remembered Jem had called him- and behind him, Will- who she still hasn't forgiven, though she was in no position to hold a grudge. They seemed to currently be in an argument, as she realized, they often were. Not wanting to make eye contact with Will nor Gabriel, she suddenly became very interested in her sushi.

However, even though she was looking down at her food, she could hear their footsteps approaching; though it wasn't Will's piercing British accent that spoke next, but rather a more proper one that said, "Cyril, have you finished filing my expense reports?" Daring a glance up from her sushi, Tessa saw that it was the green eyed man who'd spoken. Seeing him up close, she realized he was almost as attractive as Will was, but in different ways. Gabriel seemed much more angular, with sharp cheekbones, and a straight nose. Will was directly behind Gabriel, and, unintentionally catching his eye, he winked at her. Tessa resisted the urge to roll her own eyes.

"Yes, and I left them on your desk, as you asked me to," Cyril replied, though his tone was much more clipped now than it had been before; he seemed to have lost some of his friendly manner.

"Wonderful. Run those over to banking for me, would you?" Gabriel said this as though it weren't a question.

"Of course," Cyril replied almost mechanically, and was about to return to eating, when Gabriel's voice pierced the air again.

"Now, Cyril," Tessa understood what Cyril had been talking about before: she was positive Jem would never treat her in this way. But Gabriel wasn't done. "I'm paying you for a reason." Almost on its own, Tessa's jaw dropped slightly. Was this guy serious?

"Right, I'll do it. But I'm on my lunch break-" Beggining again, Cyril didn't get the chance to finish his sentence.

"Now." It was one simple word, but the way Gabriel said it implied that there would be heavy consequences if it wasn't followed. Looking up once more, she saw that Gabriel had a an expression on his face that was a mixture of boredom and superiority. Trying to control her temper, Tessa remembered what Thomas had said about Gabriel getting the job thanks to his father, and instantly felt another flare of dislike. Pressing her lips together, she knew that, in her position, it would be improper to speak up on Cyril's behalf, but she still felt awful keeping silent.

Cyril looked as though he wanted to say something, but instead, he just silently got up from his seat, collected his bag lunch, pushed his chair in, and left the lunchroom without another word, presumably doing what Gabriel had instructed him to.

Clapping his hands together, Gabriel turned to Will, and, speaking in a manner as though nothing had happened, said, "Now that I have that taken care of, I'll grab a coffee and then we can get to work?"

Will shrugged slightly, clearly uninterested and indifferent either way. "Alright." Spinning on his heels, Gabriel went off over to where Bridget was, ready to order his coffee. After he was out of earshot, Will faced Tessa, Sophie, and Thomas- as well as the empty seat next to them that had previously seated Cyril. "Bloody awful, isn't he?"

Not able to hold it in, Tessa asked, in a rather harsh manner, "Then why are you spending time with him?"

Giving her an incredulous look, Will said, in a shocked and mildly offended tone, "You don't honestly think I'd willingly be in the same room as him? No, Tess, we were assigned a project to work on together." Next to her, Tessa felt Sophie stiffen, and, judging by the look on her face, it was probably with disdain towards Mr. Herondale.

"My name's Tessa," She corrected, unsure of what inside of her was making her stand up to such a powerful man.

"Right, yes, but don't you think Tess suits you better?" It didn't seem as though he needed nor wanted an answer, for he plunged forward, "Besides, Tess, it's rather rude to correct your superior."

"It's rather rude to call someone by anything other than their name," Tessa retorted, feeling the same spark of anger towards Will again. Did all the superiors other than Jem walk around like they owned the place? Although, some of them almost do, She thought glumly. Gabriel's dad is on the board, after all.

"It's a nickname, so don't get so defensive," He said, pairing his excuse with a smirk.

Rather exasperated, Tessa didn't think she could take much more of this. "Sophie, I'm going to go and get a napkin," It was an insufficient alibi to evade him, and she felt bad for leaving Thomas and Sophie alone with him, but she wanted to clear her mind so she wouldn't say anything rash- especially since she knew some of her anger was due to the way Gabriel had treated Cyril.

"Not even a goodbye?" Will called out, but Tessa had already stood up and had begun walking towards the small napkin dispenser next to the cashier. "Wait-" He cried, and Tessa craned her head to see what was the matter, just in time to have another body slam into her.

Eyes going wide, she slowly glanced at who she'd run into, dreading who she'd see staring back at her greatly.

Sucking in a breath, Tessa was now face-to-face with Gabriel, who, to her horror, was covered in boiling hot coffee; his now empty cup was on the floor next to him, and his expression was a mixture between shock, loathing, and pure horror. From behind her, Will burst out in laughter.

"Just who the hell do you think you are?" Gabriel sputtered, his face flushing slightly- though whether it was due to embarrassment or the hot coffee on him, Tessa was uncertain.

"That's Tess," Will answered for her, beaming giddily, as though he were watching a particularly funny comedy. "And she's officially my new favorite person."

Gabriel shot him a nasty look. "Oh, absolutely wonderful, thanks for that, William. Now I know her name. I meant what does she do here," Seeming like he was ready to murder someone, Gabriel was starting to make Tessa slightly scared- although she was also holding back a fit of laughter at the sight of him covered in sticky dark roast coffee, which was matting his hair down in a rather unflattering way.

"Jem literally introduced her as his assistant in the meeting less than twenty minutes ago," Will replied, looking quite exasperated at having to remind Gabriel of this.

"So she's just an assistant then?" He asked, a devilish smile now playing at his lips. Heart thumping in her chest, Tessa didn't like where this was going. "And she was only hired today?"

"Yes," Tessa answered hesitantly, not wanting to say anything that might jeopardize her position further.

"Wonderful. Then she's fired."

A different voice came from near the door, a very familiar voice that Tessa couldn't place, that said, "No, Gabriel. She's not." Turning to see who had spoken, a smile lit up across her face as she saw Jem standing there, obviously working very hard to not laugh at Gabriel.

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**Please review, follow, favorite! Love you lot!**


	4. Coffee Puns

**hey guys! I'm back! Sorry for the week-long wait. :( I was sick and couldn't really think properly, but now I'm recovering and I have a 2,000+ word chapter to** **prove it! And in this chapter, my innate ability to generate terrible puns has its time to shine!**

**btw I'm working on giving this a new cover, so if it doesn't look the same as before, it's because it updated :)**

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**SaneLillies: I'm so glad you like it! Personally, one of the things I strive for in my stories is creativity, so I'm thrilled you think it's unique! :)**

**SilverJem5: Thank you for your sweet compliments! :) I'd like to think that I can portray the characters right, so it means a lot that you like how I'm writing Jem!**

**Midnightstone1118: I'd like to thank you for your consistent commenting and super nice reviews! :) I hope you like this chapter as well!**

**SilverCarstairs: Thank you for your help with the accent stuff! I'm half Canadian- half American so I have -10% knowledge on that sort of thing. I corrected myself in this chapter (as you'll see) and I'm going to go back and change it in the last chapter as well. Also, I'm so thankful that you like the story. And, don't worry, there'll be more cliffhangers. XD**

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Tessa looked around Jem's office again, though this time she was sitting on the small white couch in the corner, rather than standing in the doorway. After Gabriel had threatened to fire her, Jem had stepped in, quickly ushering her out of the lunchroom before she could cause too much of a stir- though Tessa feared she was passed the point of being inconspicuous. He hadn't said much to her as he'd guided her back to his office, but she couldn't help but get the sinking feeling that he was disappointed in her.

Now, he was pacing back and forth in front of her, as though deciding what to do. Silver eyes glistening with concentration, Tessa couldn't help but think he looked rather adorable whilst lost in though. Turning towards her all of a sudden, Jem smiled warmly at her- causing Tessa to blink with confusion.

"A-are you upset with me, sir?" She asked timidly, puzzled by his cheeriness even after all the trouble she'd caused.

"Upset with you? No, that was one of the most amusing things I'd seen all day! You should've seen the way Will looked- he hadn't smiled that broadly since his promotion," Although Jem seemed to be trying to explain why he wasn't upset with her- his explanation only confused her more.

"So then you aren't disappointed with me?" Tessa asked again, just to make sure she was hearing him right. She had, after all, spilled coffee on a HOD.

"Nothing of the sort, although I can't say Gabriel was as amused as Will and I were. If only Cyril had been there to see it- I heard he doesn't like his boss much." Jem was taking this better than Tessa had thought he would- despite his calm demeanor, she had expected a least a lecture. "Although, please remind me not to have you fetch me my coffee."

Tessa laughed nervously at his joke, still not believing her luck. "Do you think Gabriel will be able to fire me?" Even though Jem wasn't angry with her, Gabriel had as much power as Jem did-if not more due to Gabriel's father- and Tessa couldn't help but think it would be quite easy to fire a new assistant.

"No. I won't let him," There was a sort of protectiveness to Jem's voice, despite the fact that she had only met him today. "If he really is adamant about firing you, I'll give you the highest of praise, thus canceling out his negatives."

"You'd do that for me? Even though I only started working here today?" It almost felt surreal how nice her boss was. Her brother, Nate, had warned her that in business, bosses usually treated their assistants like crap- but then again Jem seemed to defy all the stereotypes.

Shrugging slightly, he said, "I have a hunch about you, and I got where I am today by trusting my instincts. That and never spilling coffee on my superiors."

Tessa winced slightly, "You aren't going to let that go, are you?"

"It's okay, if you want to live it down, consider the event wiped from my memory. It's Will who you'll have to worry about making coffee related jokes for the rest of the month." While Jem had ushered her from the lunchroom, Will had shot her a thumbs-up, and Tessa worried that if he constantly reminded people of the event, it would only make Gabriel dislike her more.

"Do you think I could ask him to forget about the whole thing, too?" From what she could tell, Will wasn't the type to let things go easily, especially not if they amused him, but it was worth a shot.

"You could certainly ask him, but whether he'd comply is another issue," There was a certain honesty in his voice that calmed Tessa's nerves. It wasn't like that with most people she met- people who were generally focused on their own egotistical and self-centered goals, people who wouldn't spend the time reassuring someone unless it was to their benefit; no, Jem was different, and even in the short span of time she'd known him, Tessa could tell that much.

However, her train of thought was interrupted when she heard the small ding that alerted someone when they received a text. Digging in her back pocket for her phone, she pulled it out and turned on the power only to find that she hadn't received any new messages. Placing the phone back in her pocket, she looked up to see Jem, on his own device, looking rather troubled- his eyes scanning back and forth across the screen. Not wanting to disturb him, Tessa stayed silent until Jem finally put down his own phone, and said, with a puzzled expression, "Charlotte just called another meeting..."

Tessa brightened up, glad it was nothing worse than that. "Well that isn't too terrible, is it?"

"I suppose not," Jem nodded, but he still looked perplexed. "It's just...Well, I mean we only got out of our last meeting an hour ago. It isn't like Charlotte to call unnecessary meetings, and if she's doing it so soon, it must mean she only just found out about some important information."

"Maybe it's good news, though? Maybe we'll walk in and she'll say 'you guys all get bonuses' or 'take a paid vacation'!" Since Jem did seem to be worried about the meeting, Tessa figured the least she could do was try to alleviate some his nervousness before they had to leave- even if her attempts were feeble.

Despite Tessa's lackluster comedy, Jem did crack a smile. "Maybe she'll tell us we get to go on an employees-only trip."

Suddenly Tessa heard a familiar English accent say, "Maybe she'll fire Gabriel." Turning to face who had spoken, but knowing who she'd see beforehand, she was nothing short of unsurprised when she saw Will's head poking through the doorway.

"We were naming pleasant things for Charlotte to do," Jem said, almost in a brotherly manner- with fondness, yet audible traces of sternness in his voice.

Pushing the door open fully and entering the room, Will shrugged. "My statement remains. Anyways, I was sent to fetch you two for the unexpected meeting."

"Were we really taking long enough to have someone sent out for us?" Looking down at his phone, as if to verify something, Jem continued. "The alert only came a minute ago,"

"Try fifteen. After you escorted Tess out of there, all our phones went off simultaneously. Really got Gabriel all fired up 'cause he couldn't go home and change suits before the important meeting," Glancing at Tessa, he nodded approvingly. "Good job by the way. You really had him going esppress_no_."

Jem laughed, "That was a terrible joke, Will."

"I won't spill the coffee beans if you don't," Will said, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. Tessa giggled softly at the sheer awfulness of the jokes, along with Jem, who also seemed thoroughly bemused by the stupidity of them.

"Are you just coming up with these on the spot?" Tessa asked, actually glad that he was making jokes about the situation- it made the direness of the fact that she had gotten on a HOD's bad side less prominent. "They're pretty awful."

"Latt_hey_, that's pretty rude," Grinning at his own painful pun, Will raised his right eyebrow slightly when he saw Tessa laughing. Maybe she had been too quick to judge Will... "Anyways, we really ought to be getting to that meeting, don't you think?" Will looked over at the clock on Jem's desk, "We're all already seven minutes late."

"Seven minutes?!" Eyes wide, Tessa tried to make sure she didn't panic. After all, they all knew that she was new here... But still, this wasn't the first mistake she had made today.

"Yep. Eight now," Will said, glancing down at his own watch.

Springing up from her spot on the couch, Tessa headed towards the door, "I hope they don't think it's my fault-"

"They won't," Will, waving his hand as though shooing away her worries, explained. "You'll be entering with me. They'll most likely blame it on me, assuming I held you captive, and forced you to listen to terrible comedy.".

"Is that not what happened?" Jem asked, his tone mildly playful.

Hand nervously fluttering next to the door handle, Tessa's eyes flicked over to the clock, and the small red hand that counted seconds seemingly moving at an unnaturally fast pace. "Perhaps we should go now?" She suggested lightly, though she accidentally let some traces of her frantic panic slip into her words.

"Of course. Please, don't worry about the tardiness. Charlotte will understand once I explain my phone's abhorrent service," Jem went over to the door as well, his phone still in his hand.

Pulling the door open, she allowed Will and Jem to walk through it before heading out herself and closing the door behind her. "You really think so?"

"Honestly, Tess, don't worry about it. I've been late to meetings countless times," Will said, as the three began heading down an unfamiliar hallway, with Tessa walking a step or so behind Will and Jem, wanting to make sure she could follow them.

She bit her lip. "Somehow I don't find that very reassuring." Jem laughed a little at her response.

They turned another corner, revealing a brightly lit hallway that Tessa was sure she hadn't been in yet. Instead of the faux-marble floors, this one had a bright orange shag carpet, that seemed to grab slightly at Tessa's shoes. Wall-to-floor windows revealed small offices that seemed to be furnished sparsely, from what she could see. As they walked past a few more of these offices, she caught glimpses of oak desks, and rolling chairs in drab colors. She couldn't help but feel curious as to who worked in this part of the company.

"In case you were wondering," Jem said, and she seriously questioned if he could read minds. "This is the accounting section of LI, hence the rather dreary furnishings. It's numbers all day long for the workers here."

Tessa cringed slightly, "Sounds awful. I mean, I understand some people prefer math, but I could never picture myself doing it for a living." Pausing, she deliberated on what exactly she'd _want_ to do to make a living, if she could choose. "Personally, I'm more into literature. So I guess my dream job here would be writing our press releases and such."

"You like literature?" Will asked, in a slightly surprised tone. Angling his head slightly to look at her, he said, "Who's you favorite author?"

"Dickens," She responded instantly. "He wrote my favorite book,_ Tale of Two Cities._"

"Ah," looking rather disappointed, Will sighed. "Read it. Didn't particularly like it, though."

Nearly stopping in her tracks as they rounded yet another corner, Tessa's jaw dropped. "You didn't like it? But... I mean...How?"

"Found it rather boring. But if it's your absolute favorite, I guess I'll have another go at it. It's in my library, I think," He pressed his lips together, and looked as though he were trying to recall something.

Giving him a skeptical look, Tessa asked, "You have a library?"

Nodding, Will shot Tessa a smug little grin. "It's in my office, and it's my pride and joy." He spoke about his library the same way some of the guys Tessa had known before spoke about their cars- with an undertone of joy, and a blatant showcase of pride, as though it was their own child. "You can come visit it some time, see if there are any books that interest you."

"I might just have to take you you up on that offer, Mr. Herondale."

"Really hate to interrupt your book talks," Jem said, and he truly did sound sorry for doing so. "But... Well, we're here." Tessa looked up at a completely new door- one that was a deep charcoal, that bore smudged out gold lettering which was far past the point of unreadable- and gave Jem a quizzical look. "This is the second meeting room," He explained, acknowledging her questioning look and nodding towards the door. "There's three of them. The third one being for board meetings. This one's rarely used, though. So I'm quite confused as to why-"

Suddenly the door in front of them swung open, causing Tessa to step back. As the door fully opened, standing before them was one of the prettiest girls Tessa had seen. She had glossy blonde hair, and a cute heart-shaped face that made her lips seem to always be in a pouting state. Delicate hand on her hip, and looking thoroughly annoyed, she would be considered a traditional beauty had it not been for the terrible scowl she was wearing. "William, Jem. The meeting started ages ago, and you're late."

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**I'm actually really excited for the next chapter where you'll be able to finally see where the plot's going! (Yay) so stay tuned guys!**

** I love hearing from you readers! It's literally the best! And every follow and favorite inspires me to write, so it does mean a lot to me, and I wanted to thank you guys who are following/favoriting (and everyone else who's just reading, too)! So please follow, favorite, and REVIEW!**

**love you lot, **

**dogestiel**


	5. An Announcement

**Hullo guys! **

**There's nothing I can say that will excuse how long it took to write this chapter! I am truly sorry! Even though this chapter is short, I'm posting it so you know that I'm still continuing the story! **

**However, it is here now, and I would like to thank everyone who posted such wonderful reviews! You're the reason I stuck to it!**

**i apologize for a shorter chapter- but finally, in this one, you'll be able to see where the plot is sort-of headed.**

**_SilverJem5: I'm so glad you enjoy my awful sense of humour! There'll be more where that came pun! ((-Except hopefully better than that))_**

**_Jillessa Heronstairs: Ack! Thank you so much for finding my chapter "FREAKING AWESOME"! Hopefully this one will be just as much so!_**

**_SaneLillies: Jessamine will be more prominent in the later chapters, but trust me, just about every character from TID is going to be in this story! I love myself some side charries! I actually do plan on making some more feelsy later chapters, but still sticking to the T rating- so be warned! :)_**

**_Midnightstone1118: I'm so fricken happy you loved it! Sorry for not updating soon enough! _**

**_Guest: I have written! It may have been a long and tedious effort, but the final product is here! Hopefully you'll like it! And sorry for the delay!_**

**_Marie E. Brooke: Don't worry, it's not just you- I'm a procrastinator of the worst sorts! I'm so glad you like my descriptions! I used to struggle with those a lot, so the fact that you complimented them- *proceeds to smile like an oaf*. Anywho, hopefully you'll find this chapter up to par!_**

**Please review, favorite and follow! It's what keeps me writing!**

**Love you lots, and enjoy! **

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"Thanks, Jessamine. We had no idea," Will said in a deadpan, then entered the room, brushing past the girl- whom he had called Jessamine- with very little restraint; Jem and Tessa followed after him. Unlike the last meeting room, this one had a large, circular mahogany table that seemed to be heavily occupied. From the looks of it, and the fact that Tessa hadn't been kicked out yet, assistants were allowed in this meeting- which made the table seem rather small considering how many people were packed into chairs. She could spot Sophie, sitting in the corner, close to Henry and Charlotte, looking rather uncomfortable. Catching Tessa's eye, Sophie shot her a slightly shaky reassuring smile, and Tessa returned the gesture. Several chairs away from Sophie sat Gabriel and Cyril- Gabriel with a rather bored expression, and Cyril with a rather pleased one (caused by the coffee incident, Tessa had to assume).

Jem lead her over to the other end of the room where three chairs were empty, and he and Will took two of the three open seats. Understanding immediately, Tessa sat in the unoccupied seat next to Jem, pulling out a notepad and a pencil, ready to take notes about any eventful happenings that were bound to occur at such a large meeting. The girl who had opened the door seemed to have taken her seat as well. Gradually, the light chatter died down until it was silent as a morgue. Standing up, Charlotte made her way to the front of the room, her face solemn. Once she got to the front, she cleared her throat in an almost authoritative manner- Tessa hadn't known anyone could make clearing their throat commanding, but somehow Charlotte pulled it off.

"I have called you all here to make a rather unfortunate announcement." Many employees exchanged worried glances, Jem and Will included, but Tessa couldn't blame them- she had only been working here for a day, but many of these people had put countless hours into improving the company-if LI went down, they went down with it. "Someone has offered a very generous sum of money to buy London Institute, and the board is considering accepting the offer-which would mean giving LI to ... To a new owner."

Tessa dropped her notepad.

Several employees gasped, some looked angry- balling their fists and narrowing their eyes- and others looked scared for the fate of their job. Glancing at Jem, who sat directly beside her, Tessa could tell that he was worried, but he wasn't showing it as obviously as many others were. His eyes seemed to glaze slightly, and he was gripping the table hard enough for his knuckles to turn white, but besides that, he looked perfectly calm. Unlike Will, whose expression was stormy, Jem's was relaxed, and, had Tessa not been sitting next to him, she wouldn't have noticed anything different about him. "They can't possibly go through with the sale," Will muttered to Jem, his blue eyes blazing. "Charlotte had to-"

"Charlotte only owns 45% of the company, if the board's decision to sell is unanimous, then they have every right," Jem replied in his usual voice, though Tessa couldn't help but feel as though the words felt forced.

Will seemed to notice this too, for though Jem appeared calmer than Will himself, he said, in a slightly more comforting voice, "It'll be okay, Jem. We won't let them sell."

Glancing over at his friend, Jem loosened his grip on the table and smiled slightly. "Even though we barely have any say in what happens from here on out, we'll stand by Charlotte, right?"

"Right," Will nodded. Feeling awkward being so close to the conversation but not being in it fully, Tessa tried to focus on the small grey thread that seemed to be springing free from her skirt. Pulling at it slightly, she was startled when Will addressed her. "It must be hard for you, Tess- your first day, and you have to hear this?"

Looking up at the two, who both seemed to be giving her expectant looks, waiting for her answer, Tessa opened her mouth slightly, but was uncertain of what to say. It was hard, this being her first day, having to hear such terrible news, but she knew it was harder for those around her, and she didn't know how to say that to these two. Instead, she settled for, "Yeah, it is."

Suddenly there was a loud crack that resounded through the air. Turning back up to the front, Tessa saw Charlotte, who seemed to have just smacked a magazine down on the table, looking very frustrated. "All of you- the Institute isn't sold yet! Now, the Board will be coming to explain all this-"

"The board?" Gabriel exclaimed from the other end of the room, looking worried for the first time during the span of the meeting. Tessa had noted that he'd been unnaturally calm when Charlotte had made her announcement, especially for someone who still had dried coffee stuck to his hair and clothes- a fact which Cyril was still beaming about. While most HODs had at least looked slightly worried, Gabriel's expression had remained unmoving up until the mention of the board.

"Yes, Gabriel, the board," Charlotte responded immediately, giving him an almost exasperated look, though Tessa didn't think it was meant towards Gabriel directly, but rather it was her way of expressing her disapproval of the entire rooms' restlessness. However, her hardened expression quickly turned to a quizzical look once she realized that Gabriel was covered in old coffee- a look which Gabriel ignored.

Fidgeting almost anxiously, he asked, in a steady voice that contradicted his nervous movements, "When _exactly_ are they coming?" At that moment there was a loud knock on the black door, and Charlotte gave the entire room a significant look.

"I hope that answers your question," She said to Gabriel, who actually looked quite scared, considering a moment before he'd been as smug as ever. Tessa subconsciously wondered what had made him change his attitude so quickly.

Heading over to the black door, Charlotte yanked the thing open, revealing a rather old-looking group of people behind it. They all filed into the room one by one, each walking with a superior purpose, their posture commanding, all nodding at Charlotte in replace of a proper greeting. At the front of the line of people was a regal-looking woman with icy white hair that was pulled into a tight bun that seemed to tug at the skin on her forehead. Behind her were several other men and women, but only one stood out to Tessa more than the others, and it was only because he reminded her of someone else. He carried himself in the same stiff manner, and had the same sharp, bony nose as...as...well, as Gabriel. Tessa recalled that Gabriel's father was on the board, so it was only natural that this would be him. Gabriel's father seemed to also command attention the same way as the other members of the board did, his eyes flicking over the employees seated at the table as though he were looking at a rather large pile of dung. The members of the board stopped just where Charlotte had been talking before, and where she now scurried back to-doing her best to keep up with the crowd of board members.

"It's lovely to have you all here," Charlotte began, but she was abruptly cut off by Gabriel's father, who seemed to be looking at Gabriel with a horrified and stern expression.

Glaring at his son, he said, in a merciless tone, "Gabriel, are you covered in coffee?" Tessa felt her cheeks flush red, and she immediately looked down.

She didn't need to see to know the petulant expression that would be on Gabriel's face when he said, in a resentful tone,. "Some assistant spilled it on me, father."

"And you didn't even think about cleaning it up before a board meeting?"

Face flushing red, Gabriel shook his head, "No, I didn't even know it was a board meeting."

His father sneered, "The first meeting you attend with the board and you decide to come dressed in some _caffeinated concoction_?" Spitting out the last two words, Benedict's expression could have passed for embarrassment had he not narrowed his eyes at Gabriel, infuriated.

Lips forming a thin line, Gabriel stared straight ahead, looking as though he'd much rather be anywhere but this meeting room. "It wasn't my fault-"

"Benedict, if you wouldn't mind, we have far more important things to talk about than whatever beverage your son has decided to wear," A strong and persuasive female voice spoke this time, and Tessa looked up to see it was the regal woman from before, her jaw set and her back straight.

Recoiling slightly, Benedict replied, "Of course. I apologize on my son's behalf." Gabriel's mouth was open, as though he had intended to apologize as well, but he promptly shut it, scowling. Tessa heard Will let out a satisfied _hmph_.

The regal woman once again set her eyes upon the employees surrounding the table, and, had Tessa thought this woman to be the sympathetic sort, she might've mistaken the woman's look to be one of sorrow, or at the very least pity. "I assume Charlotte has told you that we have relieved an offer for London Institute?" There was a murmur of agreement among the employees. "Good. Has she told you who made the offer?" No one said a word.

Breaking off the silence, Charlotte volunteered, apologetically, "I was just getting to it before you walked in-"

Waving her away, the regal woman said, "I need none of your excuses, Lottie. I'll tell them myself. You may know the man in charge of this company. I doubt that any of you have never heard his name at least once." Taking a deep breath, as though steadying herself, she plunged forward, "Well, the man who has made an offer- and a rather hefty one at that, I might add- is none other than Axel Mortmain, CEO and head of the board at Automatonics Inc."

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**i can't believe how many reviews I got for this chapter! Please, they mean the world to me! *dawns pink Sharpay glasses* I want _more_! But seriously, you reviewers are the best. I want to hug all of you. And you too, followers. And you too, favoriters (if my story is one of your faves that means a lot!)! And all of you readers! Here's a virtual hug! *hugs***

**please review follow and favorite! It keeps me writing! :D**

**And sorry for the sort-of cliffhanger! (Not really :p)**

**love you lot,**

**Dogestiel**


	6. The Shins

**Hey everyone! It's me! I'm back with an update in a really short amount of time for me. XD A little word on this particular chapter: IT IS SUB PAR IN THE BEGINNING BUT IT WILL PICK UP TOWARDS THE END. In fact, by the end, THIS MAY BE ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHAPTERS I HAVE WRITTEN (not to mention one of the longest).**

**YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A CHARACTER WHO HAS BEEN BEGGING TO BE INTRODUCED!**

**Anywho, I also have an announcement at the end of the chapter! So stay tuned for that!**

**Love you lot,**

**Dogestiel**

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**SilverJem5: Aasdfghjkl! Thank you so much! In my opinion, subtle things are the most important, because they're the ones that grow on you! And btw, Gabriel is my favorite character, so I'm glad I could cause you to feel for him! (,:**

**Marie E. Brooke: I can't believe my story is one of your favorites! I see your reviews on a lot of other stuff, so I also know how awesome it is to get a fully positive review from you! :D Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter too! *throws confetti with you***

**The-Finale-Hope: Hehehehe! There'll be more about the fate of LI and Charlotte in the next chapter! I have a lot planned for that one- so be prepared! **

**Vialovesbooks: Glad you like the chapter! I liked the name, too. :)**

**SilverCarstairs: I think I'm in love with your reviews. Scratch that. I know I am. Sorry to say but we're eloping this weekend. Dogestiel x SilverCarstair's Reviews. **

**But seriously, your reviews are actually a good portion of why I keep writing this story despite how little follows/favorites it gets! You're totally awesome! I hope you like this one! **

**thedarkwhiteangel: I'm so happy you like it! Thanks!**

**Midnightstone1118: I'm glad I updated too, tbh! The feedback is great! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! **

**SaneLillies: That's okay, we're all a little weird here! :D Btw, I know you're one of the main players on side-character fics, (*coughs* Gabrily*coughs*) so I'm looking forward to hearing your feedback on this particular chapter!**

**ENJOYYYYYYY**

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Tessa's breath caught in her throat. _Mortmain_? Of course she'd heard of him- she didn't know of anyone who hadn't. With nicknames in the press like Magister, and Clockwork Prince, Mortmain was the leading force in all things tech. So why he'd want London Institute- which owned mostly brands for home supplies- Tessa had no clue.

"He said he just wants to own it, however, and not run it," she continued, lips pursed. "He said that, if his offer was accepted, everyone working here would keep their jobs." Tessa felt a weight lifted off of her chest, though she couldn't help but notice that the regal woman didn't make eye contact with Charlotte.

"Oh thank god," Will muttered, grinning. "For a second there, she had me scared to death." He was fiddling with a small pencil, sitting back, and generally looking more relaxed than he had been only some seconds before.

Eyes fixed on the regal woman, Jem's eyebrows were furrowed slightly, and Tessa wondered why he wasn't satisfied at this news.

Someone spoke again, but this time it was not the regal woman, but rather, Charlotte, "That is not completely true," she seemed to hesitate, noticing the decline of jubilance in the room immediately. "I mean, you all will keep your jobs, but... As for me... Well, it seems Axel wants a new CEO."

Will raised his eyebrows, eyes wide, "He doesn't want Charlotte?" He blinked, looking not only shocked but worried at this piece of information, "Are we sure Mortmain is quite right in the head?"

"He has to be, if he's buying the company," Jem replied, his voice shaking slightly. "But, we can't lose Charlotte. I don't think there is a better CEO than her out there."

"Oh, Charlotte?" Benedict said, wearing an awful smirk. "There's one more thing I forgot to mention. Mortmain said he wants us all to learn a new computer system for filing work, and he wants us to start now."

"That's highly ridiculous-'

Benedict waved a hand, cutting Charlotte off. "It's quite alright Charlotte, I know someone who is already familiar with the new system he wants to put in. My eldest son, Gideon, should be returning from his year off any day now, and I've already convinced him to help teach the employees everything."

"How thoughtful," From the tone of Charlotte's voice, it seemed she didn't think the gesture was very thoughtful at all.

Smiling like the devil after making a soul-binding deal, Benedict nodded, "My pleasure."  
"Before we go, I have two more announcements to make," Charlotte said, turning away from Benedict. "Since we have an opening in accounting- someone here is getting a promotion." A sudden hush fell over the room, and Tessa hoped the person who had earned the promotion was talented with numbers. "Cyril, you're promoted to accounting. Henry will help you get settled in, but for now, he's your new department boss. Got it?"  
Cyril looked as though he could kiss someone, his eyes shining with relief. Henry smiled warmly at him, giving him a thumbs-up.

"What do I do about finding an assistant, then?" Gabriel asked, running his left hand through his hair, eyes narrowed.

Shrugging simply, Charlotte replied, "Put out an ad for a new one."

"And what shall I do until then?"

Looking as though he were about to burst, Will responded, in a fiendish voice, "I know the concept may be foreign, Gabriel, but until then, perhaps you could try doing your own work?"

Face flushing, Gabriel looked as though, had it not been for the table separating them, he would've gladly murdered Will. "Perhaps, Herondale," he spat out, "You should try-"

"Gabriel," Benedict muttered, though in a manner that was loud enough for everyone to hear.

Immediately, Gabriel stopped talking; although, he looked like he wanted to punch someone- more specifically, Will.

"The second announcement: our current plan of action," Charlotte piped up once more, drawing everyone's attention again. "Go on as if we don't know anything. Pretend nothing happened- do not speak of what you've heard outside this room."

Tessa bit her lip. Not discussing what they'd heard today? That was a rather odd thing to ask, but Tessa assumed it was only because Charlotte didn't want outside sources hearing about her being kicked out of LI.

"Meeting adjourned," Charlotte sighed, "Everyone, go home early today."

* * *

After she left the meeting, Tessa bid Jem goodbye, and exchanged phone numbers with Sophie, promising to text her as soon as possible. Leaving the sleek modern building, Tessa headed for the subway, taking the route she had mapped out yesterday to get home. Once the subway had stopped at the correct location, she hopped off, and headed towards her shabby apartment building- glad to be able to rest after a long day.

Her building was in the lower east end of Manhattan, and while the bricks on the outside were chipping, and the paint on the lobby entrance's door was cracked and faded, Tessa had found her small apartment for a ridiculously low price- so she was glad to call this place home, despite its shortcomings.

Walking up to the faded door, she pushed it open, and walked through the shag-carpet, horrendously under-cared for excuse of a lobby in her building. When she got to the elevator, she jammed the up button and waited patiently for her ride to come.

When the elevator finally arrived, she stepped on, pressing her floor number -14- and waited. She heard the faint dong that meant her elevator had arrived, and promptly exited the confining contraption. Heading toward the first door on the left- room 129, as spray-painted gold letters read- she jiggled her key in the lock, and finally, once the door opened, she returned home.

Sighing with relief, she quickly got ready for bed- despite the fact that it was only six- and hopped into the fold-out sofa her brother had purchased her as a parting gift.

As she was about to doze off, she heard her phone buzz. Turning it on, one new text was displayed across the screen. "_Hi Tessa! It's me, Jem. I got your number from Sophie. Some friends and I are going out after work tomorrow, would you care to join?_"

Smiling, she quickly typed back, "_I'd love to join_."

Nearly a second after she had sent her last message, a new one lit up the screen. "_Great! See you tomorrow. :D"_

Turning off her phone, Tessa closed her eyes once more, grinning like a fool.

* * *

The next day, Tessa woke up as early as she thought was humanly possible: 4:30. It was true that was hardly anything compared to some friends she knew who had to wake up at three, but it was still rough on her. Making herself some coffee, she got dressed in a daze, and nearly missed the door when she tried to leave her apartment. After much fumbling with the doorknob, she finally left home

Several stops on the subway and two incidents where she almost tripped on garbage cans later, Tessa was finally back at LI's building. Stepping inside the elevator, the large, glossy doors were about to close when Tessa heard a voice yell, "Hold them open, please!" Heeding whoever's instructions it was, she stuck her foot in between the doors, causing them to slide open once more.

A young girl who Tessa highly doubted was over 18 stepped into the elevator, heaving slightly. "Thanks. I was stuck in massive traffic, I was so worried I was going to be late to my interview I just hopped out of the cab and ran the last few blocks." Her jet black hair was plastered to her face with sweat, and her violet eyes seemed to glow with relief.

"Glad I could help," Tessa said, awkwardly, not sure of how to respond. "Where are you interviewing at?"

The girl beamed, "London Institute." Her breathing pace had slowed now, and she was beginning to recompose herself, straightening her back and raising her chin. Tessa was eerily reminded of Will.

"I work there," Smiling encouragingly, Tessa thought it wise to help this girl build up confidence- though from the way this girl had her chin raised and the eyes of a lion before it catches its prey, Tessa wondered if she really needed any more. "It's lots of fun, everyone is really nice." _Well, not _everyone, _but she doesn't need to know that._

Sighing slightly, the girl looked at the elevators buttons, tapping her foot. "I know some people who work there, so that ought to help. I just wish this elevator would speed up."

Following the girl's eyes to the elevator buttons, Tessa asked, "What position are you interviewing for?"

"Oh, I'm-" Just then the elevator doors opened, and the girl sprinted out, shouted something along the lines of "I need to go, sorry!" and left Tessa alone in the box. Stepping out herself, Tessa wondered where the girl had run off to, but quickly shrugged it off, heading instead to Jem's office. Oddly, Sophie wasn't at the desk, so Tessa could say hello to her.

Retracing her steps from the previous day, not only was she proud of herself for somehow finding Jem's door, but Tessa was also rather shocked. Recalling her previous mistake, this time she knocked, and Jem's voice immediately called out, "Come in!"

Pushing the door open, Tessa was immediately greeted by the sight of Jem sitting behind his desk, shuffling around several stacks of paper. "Morning, Tessa. How's your day been?"

"Decent so far, though I have to admit I'm only still awake and talking because of the caffeine running through me," She replied, walking into the office. It looked the same as it had the day before, save for Jem's violin case, which, rather than being open and on his desk as it had been previously, was now neatly tucked into one of the shelves on his back wall.

Jem let out a small laugh, "You'll get used to that after awhile. Now, since today is no longer your first day, I have work for you."

"Anything you have for me, I can do, sir!" Tessa gave him a mock-military salute, paired with an overdone stern facial expression- pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes in a comical manner.

Grinning, Jem responded, in a just as overly done military-drill-Sergeant voice, "Glad to know I have a hard working Lieutenant like you in my troops. Now, Lieutenant Gray, march these over to the copy room- stat!" He held out the stack of paper he'd been shuffling. "Please," He added, his lips twitching upwards and his military voice dropping for an instant.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Tessa took the stack of paper out of his hands, saluted him once more, and marched out of the office. Once the door swung shut behind her, she stopped acting all army-like, and nearly laughed in spite of herself; it was wonderful to know her boss was fun to work with.

Now, to find the copy room.

She knew it was... Somewhere in the building, but where was another story. Sighing, she decided she'd just have to spend a couple of minutes looking. Heading down the hallway, she tried looking around for signs that could perhaps point her in the right direction. However, when she realized there were none, she decided to just head back to the lobby and ask Sophie for help.

Taking a left down the next hallway she came to, Tessa immediately knew something was wrong when the paint on the walls in the hallway she entered were yellow. That wasn't the only sign something was off, though; the other hint that Tessa had made a wrong turn was the impossibly large crowd of girls who seemed to be all either sitting on the small brown couches that lined the hallway, or standing up against the wall. Most were in their twenties, from what Tessa could tell, and all were very good looking. Many seemed to be crowding around the white wooden door at the end of the hallway, which had small black lettering on it- though what it read Tessa couldn't decipher from this distance.

Eyes widening, Tessa tried to take a step back, away from all these girls, but felt her body knock into someone else's. Whirling around, she let out a small sigh when she saw who it was. "Oh, Will, its only you."

Will raised his eyebrows, his blue eyes glinting, "_Only_ me? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were disappointed to see me." Today Will was wearing what appeared to be dark black jeans, a white tee shirt, and a tuxedo jacket- not exactly what most professional businessmen would dawn to work.

"Quite the opposite, actually," Tessa admitted. "I was worried I'd knocked into one of the girls that seem to be milling around this hallway. At least I bumped into a familiar face."

"I assume you're talking about the interviewers," Will sighed, shaking his head. "Poor girls. They're all going out for Lightwood's assistant position. Honestly, it's almost sad- none of them know what hell they'll have to go through if they get the job."

Remembering the girl from the elevator, Tessa understood that this must be what she'd been interviewing for, and now wished she'd warned her about what would come in the future. "Yikes. I'm glad that Jem's my boss, he's wonderful. Speaking of which, do you know where the copy room-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the door at the end of the hallway creaked open, and a familiar English accent rang out, "I'll take the next applicant now." Turning around, Tessa saw Gabriel standing in the doorway, currently allowing the girl from the elevator out of his office.

From behind her, Tessa heard Will suck in a breath. "_No_," she heard him mutter. "_No,no,no,no,no_."

Before she could ask him what was wrong, Will was already walking past her, and straight towards the girl from the elevator, who was currently bidding Gabriel goodbye. Following behind Will, Tessa was curious as to what exactly was going on.

Trudging up to the girl, Will grabbed her arm and yanked her away from Gabriel. "Cecily," He said, his voice a low, hoarse whisper. "I will speak with you later." The elevator girl- whom Tessa now knew was Cecily- looked furious. "You," Will said, releasing Cecily's hand and jabbing a finger at Gabriel, his voice raising. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"William!" Cecily shouted, causing Will to look away from Gabriel. Narrowing her eyes at him and placing her hands on her hips, it was unquestionably impressive that, even though she was a foot smaller than Will, this girl looked absolutely terrifying.

"Cecily, not right now," Will sighed, about to turn back to Gabriel.

Grabbing his arm this time, Cecily made sure Will didn't look away from her. "No, you listen to me. I don't care what you think you're trying to accomplish by butting in on my interview like this, but I refuse for you to speak to Mr. Lightwood that way."

Tessa was absolutely positive she'd never seen a smugger grin than the one plastered onto Gabriel at that moment.

"Cecily, you have no idea what you're doing applying to be his assistant," Will persisted, trying to yank Cecily's arm off of him. "As your brother," Tessa blinked in surprise. _Brother_? "I cannot let you-"

"William you will not hurt nor speak to Mr. Lightwood in any threatening manner, understood? Or else I will have to kick you in the shins," Cecily cut him off and spoke to him in such a way that, had it not been for her obvious youth, Tessa would've readily accepted Cecily as Will's mother.

"Cecily-"

"_In. The. Shins._"

Will had the face of a man who feared for his shins.

"Fine," Will relented, "But I'm just trying to look out for you. If you had wanted a job at LI, you could've just asked me! I would've gotten you one!"

Rolling her eyes, Cecily scoffed, "Will, don't be so dense. I wanted to get a job here on my own merits, not because you're my brother." There it was again. _Brother_.

_No wonder they look so alike_.

By now everyone in the hallway was staring at Will and Cecily, including Gabriel. Though he seemed to mostly be staring at Cecily, with, and Tessa could hardly believe it, a look of admiration.

"I wish you would've told me, at least." It was odd seeing Will like this- with someone who was clearly prone to whatever he might have in store. Tessa had formed a sort of grudging respect for Cecily after witnessing how she interacted with her brother.

Cecily burst out laughing, "We all saw how well you reacted when you found out- there's no way I'd tell you beforehand! Now, I'm going to let your arm go, as long as you promise to be calm." She released her grip on Will's arm, and Will straightened up, shot a long, hard look at Gabriel, and then turned around and stormed off, walking right by Tessa.

"Well," Gabriel cleared his throat awkwardly. "All other applicants can go home, I seem to have found my new assistant." All the other girls erupted into a chorus of grumbling and shuffling to get out of the hallway, all with equally petulant expressions on their faces.

Cecily quirked an eyebrow, looking incredulous, "For real? But you gave me a 5 out of 10 on my resume!"

"And yet you got the highest number of the day; all the other applicants scored no higher than a 3. You should feel honored."

Laughing, she replied, "Please." Her laughter stopped abruptly however, and she suddenly wore a stern expression. "However, my brother's adamancy about you makes me a bit nervous, so don't think I'm not going to be on my guard."

Looking shocked, Gabriel exclaimed, "But I'm your boss! You can't just-"

"I can and I shall." Cecily's voice could've frozen over Arizona. However, in the blink of an eye, she smiled let her voice rise an octave. "See you at eight tomorrow?" Cecily asked, walking away, with a spring in her step, before she could get an answer.

Gabriel seemed to watch her go for a minute before he finally turned to Tessa "Is there something you wanted?" His eyes seemed to glaze over her, as though he was still slightly in shock.

"I- uhm- Do you know where the copy room is?"

* * *

**announcement time!**

**yay!**

**the announcement is...**

**THIS IS A GIDEON X TESSA FIC (jk)**

**the real announcement is...**

**I REALLY REALLY REALLY WANT TO WRITE A CO-FANFIC WITH SOMEONE, SO IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED, PLEASE PM ME! I HAVE A FEW IDEAS, AND I BET YOU DO TOO! WE COULD TOTALLY MAKE AN AWESOME FIC!**

**love you lot,**

**Dogestiel**


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